From Gidi Blues to the world! Cut24 productions' Gidi Blues to showcase at international film festivals across Europe, America

And Africa • Features at the Urban World Film Festival, NYC alongside Disney’s “Queen of Katwe”

Gidi Blues, the much talked about Lagos love story, produced and directed by Femi Odugbemi, has been selected to show at various international film festivals across Europe, America and Africa.


The feature film will share the same stage with “Queen of Katwe,” the Disney film directed by Mira Nair starringLupitaNyong’o and David Oyelowo at the Urban World Film Festival in New York at the AMC Empire 12 on September 24.

Gidi Blues, which premiered in June 2016 at a glamorous event in Lagos,joins an impressive line up of films selected based on diversity across stories, characters, themes, and cultures.

Other film festivals it will be showcased include:
• 6th Lights, Camera, Africa!! Film Festival, Lagos on October 1
• 18th Zimbabwe International Film Festivals, Harare from October 1-8
• Goethe Institute Film Week in Addis Ababa from October 17-21
• Film Africa Festival, the Royal African Society’s annual London film festival, UK from October 28 – November 6

Gidi Blues was also showcased at the Black Star Film Festival and Ugandan Film Festival in August. Meanwhile, Odugbemi has been invited to speak to the film community at the Opening of The Golden Tree Festival in Frankfurt, Germany happening from October 16-18.

“For me, it’s another great opportunity to showcase our film industry to the world on platforms that seek to tell our stories in documentary and feature films in the best international best practices and quality,” Odugbemi said.

Shot in iconic locations of Lagos such as Idumota market, Makoko, Victoria Island, IsaleEko, Lekki, Freedom Park and Broad Street, the movie tells the story of Akin, played by Gideon Okeke, an indulged playboy from an affluent family who accidentally meets an interesting beauty, Nkem, played by HauwaAllahbura, in an unpredictable place.

It features a stellar cast made up of Bukky Wright, Gideon Okeke, Tina Mba, HauwaAllahbura, Lepacious Bose, and cameo appearance by Aduke and Banky W who just released a song inspired by the film.

God Will Make A Way - Article From Africas' Prolific Writer @Kev_Diggy

The true insult to us is the actions of people who always try to take advantage of us. The ones who cheat on their wives, business partners, families. Friends etc. Its unfortunate that people would try to look down on us and yet expect us to accept the role they choose to bestow on us. It has been a recurring issue in private business, bilateral relations, international treaties and post independence relationships between the so called 3^rd world developing nations and the supposed developed countries.

Post independence leaders haven’t made it easier for us to carry our heads on high as they continuously sell us short by not being of the required intellectual and Pan African state of mind to lead us to Uhuru. How did the Asian Tigers made it through, how many more guns must we holster, coups should we attempt, are we moving forward? Or illusion and deceived of coming to par by existing as a market for products and services of more developed economies. God will make a way?

The Asians seem to be the most godless of all races, neither the Europeans or Americans; Africa claims to have God, there is an African calling on him every second, we still haven’t made it out of the woods, centuries as slaves, centuries on, we are still slaves, running in circles, will God bless us today? Our greatest fear is that if we do nothing, our generations to come will be wiped out as Africans and will exist as inferior duplicate second class Asians, Europeans and Americans. We are in the most dire situation ever, we are called to stand together, do more than prayers but act united appreciating our current situations and push for a better African but God will make a way.

We are the only race afraid to undertake an economic and political revolution. We need a revolution, those who live their dreams always make it through the nightmares, we can ride for Africans and hope they will ride for us. Turn Up. God will make a way.

What will be will be? Lies, to be or not to be? It must be. Who will awaken this sleeping giant, uneasy lies his head, all eyes are on the African to either rise up or lay dead. The victim has never had it easy, no master lets a slave go without so much as a tussle, slaves must become uncomfortable by shaking off their chains, get sick at their situations and move sharply with quickness trusting the future amidst massive insane faith. When will God make a way?

I’m sick of tired of members of the African race leaving the tools to God to fight when they could be effective change agents the world has been waiting for. No democrat, republican, senator, hours of commons or reps or fat bellied or good living European American or African will change the lives of the average world citizen, they wont want to change the status quo that has made their kids ride in private jets, go on holidays, eat million dollar meals and dress in million dollar suits, the change will come from us who require that change and for this we must not be deceived by the crumbs from the kings tables but we must overtake them and take our share of the pie we desire. We must work, we must fight, we must ask, we must demand , we must win, we must change the future of our generations to come, there is enough on earth for us all, there are enough minerals, farms, food, people, natural endowments for 10n billion of us, why do we hunger, why do we starve, why do we want, why are we hungry, tired, stressed, tired, broken, why are we crying, why are we dying, why are we suffering,. why do we lack , why are the tears still here, why are we classed as 3^rd world, why are we beaten, downtrodden, why in Gods name is black and other minority tribes in the quagmire we find ourselves even with the wisdom we pride ourselves with, why is there hunger and diseases, we are more than the oppressor, we are more than the dictators, we have the power of numbers and **** democracy, it has never worked for any country or people, we can develop systems of governments that are inclusive and will take us into an era of prosperity and equality notwithstanding the ideologies of this generation, the re must be a change and its time is now.

Its time for action for we are gods. There is no hero coming down from the skies for we are our own super heroes, if we are to succeed, it is up to us, one thing I know in life is that, winners win and losers lose. We must desire to implement actions that will bring us success. We should work towards what we want to be. A greater Africa is here, the world will know we came, we were here, because of us, generations unborn of the black race will live better lives than we have, the faded glory of the black race will brighten, because we came, they will give thanks to God that we were here, God will make a way; we are gods, we are the way, we have been made.

From the villages to the palaces, Tunisia to Zanzibar, Nigeria to Uganda, Botswana to Madagascar; hear the screams of excitement because we came. God gods will make a way.

@Kev_Diggy

Most Romantic - See how this guy grabbed his girl's butt on their wedding day

They went to school together. They got married yesterday. See what the man wrote after the cut...

Buhari Calls Out European Countries and Their Banks

President Buhari yesterday told members of the United Nations to return stolen funds and assets that are stashed in their countries. He made the call while speaking at a session in the ongoing UN General Assembly currently holding in New York. 

"Illicit financial assets harbored abroad deprive developing countries including Nigeria the enjoyment of their national wealth and resources required for development. This is why Nigeria calls on the United Nations to remain vocal and active in addressing the negative impact of non-repatriation of illicit financial assets. As soon as stolen assets are legally established, they should swiftly be repatriated"he said

"I miss Daddy!" - Elvina Ibru shares throwback photo of late Nigerian Industrialist Micheal Ibru

Patriarch of the Ibru family, Olorogun Michael Ibru, passed away aged 86 on September 6th. His daughter Elvina took to IG to share this throwback photo of them both and wrote: "Some nights are harder than others. I miss my papa!"

Throwback photos of African Footballer Alex Iwobi

Nigerian Pro footballer and Arsenal Star, Alex Iwobi, 20, pictured during his childhood. More photos after the cut...

The midfielder has not had a flying start to his second stint at Old Trafford, but those pointing the finger at the player himself need to reconsider the circumstances

Paul Pogba’s return to Manchester United is already an unmitigated disaster. Or at least that is the impression you might have got from reading some reviews of the Frenchman’s performances in the losses to Manchester City, Feyenoord and Watford which have set Jose Mourinho’s side back over the past couple of weeks.
Alongside the plight of Wayne Rooney, the role of Pogba has been perhaps the biggest talking point to come from the ugly run which was momentarily brought to a halt by Wednesday’s EFL Cup win at Northampton ahead of Saturday's clash with Premier League champions Leicester City. But to single out Pogba is to unfairly highlight an issue which is not of the Frenchman’s making at a time when United have far more deep-rooted problems to alleviate.
It was always going to be a tough task to placate all of the critics from day one after United forked out a world record £89.5 million to bring their former youth star back to Old Trafford. Many decided immediately that Pogba was a waste of money, and the first sign of anything other than magnificence was always going to instigate claims that such quickly-drawn conclusions were accurate.

And, while Pogba has undoubtedly been short of the mark required in his last three outings, some refuse to take into account the extenuating circumstances for his early struggles as part of Mourinho’s new dawn.
For a start, this is a very new United side. While Mourinho has been brought in for his ability to make an immediate impact at the top of the game, there is no escaping the fact that last season’s Manchester United were a far cry from a competitive outfit. The Portuguese has been far from infallible during their recent dip, but to categorise their run as a crisis is somewhat far-fetched as Mourinho looks to rebuild a winning model.
One of the areas the manager has yet to address adequately is the best environment for Pogba, although he has certainly tried. Against Manchester City, as in his opening two starts for United, the 23-year-old started alongside Marouane Fellaini in a dual pivot at the base of midfield, but when that didn’t stem the flow of City possession Mourinho decided to try out Pogba as a number 10 against Feyenoord.


The 1-0 defeat in Rotterdam featured a flickering but ultimately underwhelming performance from Pogba, and the 3-1 reverse at Watford which followed saw him tried out in a third role in the space of a week – to the left of a midfield trident with Fellaini at the base. The misuse of the Belgian as a hunter and gatherer had a far greater bearing on Pogba’s game than anything the Frenchman himself did and the calls for Michael Carrick to come in grew long and loud as a result.
And therein lies the greater issue. Pogba can only control so much himself and, while Mourinho has conceded that the unparalleled price tag has weighed on his star man’s mind to some degree, the inability to provide the correct environment for such a key player is perhaps the manager’s biggest failure to this point. Just as at Juventus, Pogba particularly thrived alongside Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal as one dictated the pace and tempo of the game and the other took on the majority of the workload off the ball, United need to make their game work for Pogba for him to succeed.
But why can’t an £89.5m player be more adaptable, some might ask? Pogba clearly is adaptable, but if you are looking to him to dominate a game as he can and drive United to victories, then putting him in the best position to succeed has to be the primary concern. In the same way that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was slotted straight in as a number nine and wide players were encouraged to get more crosses in to supply him, Pogba must also be given the right environment to achieve something in the red shirt.

Expectation will always be there. Not only because of his status as a world-record signing but also due to the fact he is the cocky, brass type of player many onlookers love to shoot down. But, with just a little tweaking elsewhere in the midfield, Pogba can be the player he was in Italy and United can get on with addressing the more pressing concerns that are their defensive line and their misfiring captain.
 In the meantime, there will be many who make it their mission to decry the money spent on Pogba and continue to blast the player himself for his failure to live up to his billing. But in truth the onlookers’ expectations need to be reconfigured far more radically than Pogba’s approach to the game.

Forgive My Delusion - Article Written By Africas' Prolific Writer @Kev_Diggy

We look to our past, wasn’t easy, lost mentors and people we admired, great minds who genuinely wished the best for Africa. We owe it to them to succeed in this continent of ours because we have no other place, no other home, no where to go if the bombs drop, we are asylum seekers in any other place than our home continent. Salute to our past, we made it through, we have lived to tell the story, we represent the dreams and ambitions of our dead families, friends, loved ones and mentors. Success should never be seen as personal achievement, whomever we are, whatever we do, we represent inspiration to someone else, we make success and achieve greatness not because we need a 9 - 5 job or have to satisfy our daily financial burdens, but success is more communal than that. We are successful to help the next man, to improve and influence the next man positively, we achieve success to feed the next man so we feed him energy to achieve it as well. The feudal system where we all responded to the whims of one person is long past, we need each other to grow and so we must pull each other up. The strong must help the weak, the rich must give to the poor, these are are only ways the strong can remain strong and not be defeated by groupings of the weak and the rich can remain rich and not suffer theft or murder by the poor who have nothing to lose. An adage in our fatherland says that, no matter how high a rich man builds their walls, when the hunger season comes, the poor will stand on each others heads to make it to the supper table. 

Forgive my delusion, I just think we can be better, we can do better, we were meant for better, I believe we shouldn’t settle, I believe we are great. Forgive my instincts but we should be more, allow my questions, its my reality, I choose greatness and bathe in royalty because if we have survived the past? The future is a cakewalk. I lived through times in Lagos, Nigeria, I saw people walk the street with determination in their eyes, strong willed to do something for themselves and by extension their families, clans, tribe and the nation and I saw them succeed. We have also like other African and third world nations  suffered from political dysfunctional systems., hunger, unemployment, infrastructure deficit and economical failure, for the monies made from our oil export, Nigeria must be viewed as a failed state. But, the people, the people, the people, these are warriors they refused to laid down, they wont let go, these people fight for their share of the national cake, they fight for success, they will not give up, they came, the saw the situations, and the overturned the results. Nigeria is viewed as a great nation not because of the oil revenues but the will power of the people. We wont back down, defeat is not in our dictionary, why should we give up, I wont lose hope, not while this God given breath is in me, its an insult to our possibilities for us to give in. Africa will rise again, it will shine like the morning sun and no one will take what is ours. We are irrepressible.

Forgive my delusion, its been necessary for me to survive at under $1 day, its been useful for those cold nights when I slept on the streets, the hungry days, the lost dreams, left to figure my world for my self, mockery, I’ve been left to my delusion, I’ve been left to hope, faith, my only friend through the heartbreaks and losses was the dawn of a new day, delusion has given me hope, it should me the hope for a better day, along with hunger and tears, delusion formed the forth quartet of my being. Delusion worked, believing in what I couldn’t see walked me through the dark alleys, now I see the light. We must go through this alley and expect the light.

Its been tough, the belief system of our people is broken, nothing but your delusions will keep with you, you wont find a better stronger friend than your determined self, God keeping us, our faith will carry us through to a better Africa, An Africa that represents its awesome potential and Africans who will take first bite at feasting on the table. This is Africa we are Africans, it makes perfect sense for us to believe in our continent even if it means we become delusional. In history, the people who have changed the course of their destinies, have been the delusional lot. Forgive my delusion. @Kev_Diggy

Return stolen assets stashed in your countries- Pres. Buhari tells United Nations

President Buhari yesterday told members of the United Nations to return stolen funds and assets that are stashed in their countries. He made the call while speaking at a session in the ongoing UN General Assembly currently holding in New York. 

"Illicit financial assets harbored abroad deprive developing countries including Nigeria the enjoyment of their national wealth and resources required for development. This is why Nigeria calls on the United Nations to remain vocal and active in addressing the negative impact of non-repatriation of illicit financial assets. As soon as stolen assets are legally established, they should swiftly be repatriated"he said